Definitely need to put soap in the mix. Heat water to 150-180 and then dissolve. Let the mix cool before using. Silver should be base with black being lightly sprayed over he crystals. You want your negative space dark to allow the crystal design to pop. Use scotch brite with clean water and almost no pressure to buff away crystals. Follow with candy color. You’ll be much happier with results.
Hey Adam, always stoked to see you posting tutorials. You don’t even know me but you’ve taught me so much and I’ve been able to accomplish a lifelong dream of painting motorcycles, helmets, I’ve done cars, and even boats. I’m super grateful for the knowledge and inspiration you’ve freely given me. Aloha and gratitude from Maui bud🤙
I know I’m a little late to the party but I just tried this and it worked for me . I used DEF fluid instead of mixing . Love he videos , they give me inspiration to try some custom stuff . Thanks
Yup! Diesel Exhaust Fluid cuts all the prep out for the fluid. Pour in a spray bottle and drop a little dawn or any surface tension breaker in the mix and spray. The longer it takes to dry the larger the crystals.
Yeah I was just thinking the same thing as I fill up my truck with adblue. Only problem I see with def fluid is its only 33% urea in water solution so would just take longer to dry. But could add some extra urea if you wanted to.
Just 1 or 2 drops of dish soap in the mixture is enough. And then wipe the completed mixture on to the substrate. It is then a thin layer and not as heavy as being sprayed on, and the crystals form quicker and more even. ✌️
Thanks for the great video, Adam! I have watched a lot of videos on crystal effect paint jobs and there's a guy from like India, or Malaysia, or some such place that has done several of these on crystal paint jobs. He heats his solution slightly. You don't want to get it too hot or the urea breaks down and doesn't work. Just slightly warm while stirring until all the urea is dissolved. He adds quite a lot of urea to his mix plus the adds one drop of dish soap. Then once he get it applied, he uses a small stick to "touch" the piece to be painted (here it gets a little fuzzy, as he doesn't speak English, and I don't know if he puts anything on the stick or not??) to control the crystal center points. He gets huge crystals, which in my opinion looks best for this technique. And they radiate from the point where touched so he can control where the crystals converge. Pretty cool looking. I haven't experimented with this yet, but I used to ride with a buddy back in the 70's and me and him did all sort of trick paint jobs. That was the first time I did a clear krylon magazine photo lift. I lifted a drawing of a bear from a hunting magazine and put it on my son's gun rack. Pretty cool. Anyway, just a couple of ideas to try with this technique. Keep the great videos coming, they are appreciated!!
Nicely done my friend! To me, this effect looks like the skin that forms on the surface of molten lead when it starts too cioil....beautiful hob brother!
This is brilliant! I've seen these obscenely priced "magical mystery" solutions that probably cost pennies to make, and they're asking 100x the cost price! So thanks posting a more DIY solution. From a theoretical chemistry perspective I'm guessing that you'd need to saturate the solution (that is to make it so that no more urea can be dissolved, and it's just itching to turn back into a solid), also the panel you apply the urea onto can't be perfectly smooth as the crystals need things called nucleation sites to start forming from, I'm guessing you could force the crystals to form in certain places by lightly dusting fine urea powder where you'd want crystals to grow, maybe even use a stencil? Might try experimenting with this over the weekend. Thanks again!
When you sprayed the soap solution on there was bubbles on the surface, that's what caused the blotchy finish, when I use my solution I pour it on the piece and let it run off into a clean plastic bucket then you can reuse what you have saved, also the soaked paper towel works ok, I love all your videos Adam, I've learned a lot from you cheers 💪
It looks cooler then the first crystal you did behind camera! There is more depth! Great effect i have to try it son. Thanks for this video and for sharing your expierence and knowledge. Greatings from Poland 👌👌
I think amount of air flowing over and room temperature after you soak your piece in urea determines the crystal size. Also the smoother the surface is plays a part as well .
Add the dish soap to the mix, don't use a warm solution let it cool. Apply it with a lense cleaning cloth not spray and the effects are much better. The tiny bubbles ruin it. Let it dry naturally and the crystals will grow so much better.
Hello I've been doing this for a year or so and found mixing it on a burner seems to make it work better. Did you try dropping a spot of the dried urea onto the work? it causes bigger crystals to form on those points. I've tried other colors than black to form the crystal lines to show under the candy. Great show thankyou. northern Ontario.
Ok, first im not putting you down. I know your practicing so good try, but BOY that is horrible results haha. Heres were you went wrong. 1st the mixture IS 2 parts equal Urea to 1 part water. This is why we used boiled water. Let the water cool to luke warn temp. Add mild soap to the mixture like 4 drops. Mix. 2nd dont use sprayer, just dump slowly over the object your painting. 3rd use a sharp tipped point like a pencil or compass tip to poke the liquid surface ever 5 to 8 or inches or what ever you want for longer, bigger star formations. 4th wait till dry then hit it with black paint let dry like 5 mins and then wipe gentle with a cotton cloth and plain water, air dry.
Cool video. I tried doing something like that last year. I don’t think I had enough urea crystals in the water mix, got frustrated, and quit. Then I remembered my mom was a crafter many decades ago. I don’t know where she bought the paint, but it was pre mixed and ready to go. It made a great crystal effect on the back glass on my aquarium. Fast forward to today. Some specialty paint stores are selling it online. I just checked the internet. I also saw the same effects can be created by using epson salts. I know from experience if you leave the urea and water combo in a sealed container for a month or two, some serious crazy crystals will form. Thanks for the ideas! I might try that on a mailbox.
made my own first time was perfect filled a spray bottle lasted a few months did a mojotone 2x12 cab with plus a couple guitars . just have to get the temp right and not over do it because it decomposes its self and can get nasty .
Gona have to give this technique & the base pigments a try. Do the color pigments hold up well in extended direct sunlight exposure? I know brighter, more neon colors tend to fade fairly quick. Would like to use a few of them on my road glide. It’s my daily vehicle so I’d don’t want to have to respray it in a year or so cause of fading.
If you do it in high temperatures or even out in the sun, you get much bigger and drastic patterns, and you should actually put one or two drips of dish soap in the mixture
Alsa Corporation in La already makes the crystalline effect paint that you can buy so you don't need to experiment you can just buy it already, ready to go. And they make many many other types of special effect paints
Am l missing something here ???? Any videos I've watched up to this point are as follows...spray on crystals that look like crystals when dry. Not smudges. Spray on base coat of choice. Remove crystals with scratch pad and water. Hey presto...time for topcoat. This must be a prank video.....ISNT IT ??????
It's mutant crystal. Home made base coat home made crystal mixture without using the soap in the spay bottle of urea so he's making up his own rules. It does look cool and once it's candied over they'd both look great.
yeah those results are not very good lol . less humidity forms bigger crystals . DNA Paints has a perfect Mutant CrystalZ. probably where u got the name from.
Definitely need to put soap in the mix. Heat water to 150-180 and then dissolve. Let the mix cool before using. Silver should be base with black being lightly sprayed over he crystals. You want your negative space dark to allow the crystal design to pop. Use scotch brite with clean water and almost no pressure to buff away crystals. Follow with candy color. You’ll be much happier with results.
Hey Adam, always stoked to see you posting tutorials. You don’t even know me but you’ve taught me so much and I’ve been able to accomplish a lifelong dream of painting motorcycles, helmets, I’ve done cars, and even boats. I’m super grateful for the knowledge and inspiration you’ve freely given me. Aloha and gratitude from Maui bud🤙
I know I’m a little late to the party but I just tried this and it worked for me . I used DEF fluid instead of mixing . Love he videos , they give me inspiration to try some custom stuff . Thanks
Yup! Diesel Exhaust Fluid cuts all the prep out for the fluid. Pour in a spray bottle and drop a little dawn or any surface tension breaker in the mix and spray. The longer it takes to dry the larger the crystals.
Yeah I was just thinking the same thing as I fill up my truck with adblue. Only problem I see with def fluid is its only 33% urea in water solution so would just take longer to dry. But could add some extra urea if you wanted to.
Just 1 or 2 drops of dish soap in the mixture is enough. And then wipe the completed mixture on to the substrate. It is then a thin layer and not as heavy as being sprayed on, and the crystals form quicker and more even. ✌️
Thanks for the great video, Adam! I have watched a lot of videos on crystal effect paint jobs and there's a guy from like India, or Malaysia, or some such place that has done several of these on crystal paint jobs. He heats his solution slightly. You don't want to get it too hot or the urea breaks down and doesn't work. Just slightly warm while stirring until all the urea is dissolved. He adds quite a lot of urea to his mix plus the adds one drop of dish soap. Then once he get it applied, he uses a small stick to "touch" the piece to be painted (here it gets a little fuzzy, as he doesn't speak English, and I don't know if he puts anything on the stick or not??) to control the crystal center points. He gets huge crystals, which in my opinion looks best for this technique. And they radiate from the point where touched so he can control where the crystals converge. Pretty cool looking. I haven't experimented with this yet, but I used to ride with a buddy back in the 70's and me and him did all sort of trick paint jobs. That was the first time I did a clear krylon magazine photo lift. I lifted a drawing of a bear from a hunting magazine and put it on my son's gun rack. Pretty cool. Anyway, just a couple of ideas to try with this technique. Keep the great videos coming, they are appreciated!!
Nicely done my friend! To me, this effect looks like the skin that forms on the surface of molten lead when it starts too cioil....beautiful hob brother!
This is brilliant! I've seen these obscenely priced "magical mystery" solutions that probably cost pennies to make, and they're asking 100x the cost price! So thanks posting a more DIY solution. From a theoretical chemistry perspective I'm guessing that you'd need to saturate the solution (that is to make it so that no more urea can be dissolved, and it's just itching to turn back into a solid), also the panel you apply the urea onto can't be perfectly smooth as the crystals need things called nucleation sites to start forming from, I'm guessing you could force the crystals to form in certain places by lightly dusting fine urea powder where you'd want crystals to grow, maybe even use a stencil? Might try experimenting with this over the weekend. Thanks again!
When you sprayed the soap solution on there was bubbles on the surface, that's what caused the blotchy finish, when I use my solution I pour it on the piece and let it run off into a clean plastic bucket then you can reuse what you have saved, also the soaked paper towel works ok, I love all your videos Adam, I've learned a lot from you cheers 💪
What do you mean with soaked paper towels. Do you soak them and just lay it on the surface?
It looks cooler then the first crystal you did behind camera! There is more depth! Great effect i have to try it son. Thanks for this video and for sharing your expierence and knowledge. Greatings from Poland 👌👌
I think amount of air flowing over and room temperature after you soak your piece in urea determines the crystal size. Also the smoother the surface is plays a part as well .
💪💪🙏
From other peoples tutorials they recommend 1:1 ratio of water and urea and one insaw recommended 2% surfactant(dishsoap in this case)
Add the dish soap to the mix, don't use a warm solution let it cool. Apply it with a lense cleaning cloth not spray and the effects are much better. The tiny bubbles ruin it. Let it dry naturally and the crystals will grow so much better.
Love this 3d cristal effect,god job !! i come from the evocolors channel !!
1;1 ratio distiled water and urea and 2% wetting agent, a thin application wipe on
What do you use for the wetting agent?
@@chrisguzman7926 Searles spredmax it is just a universal wetting agent you can get from any garden shop
Practice makes perfect, so keep practicing!
I actually like the way that one turned out too. It's different but it looks like you did it on purpose lol.
I have done this before 1:1 and a couple drops of dish soap. Run a heat gun over it for big crystals. And a wet red scuff will clean off the crystals.
Hello I've been doing this for a year or so and found mixing it on a burner seems to make it work better. Did you try dropping a spot of the dried urea onto the work? it causes bigger crystals to form on those points. I've tried other colors than black to form the crystal lines to show under the candy. Great show thankyou. northern Ontario.
Ok, first im not putting you down. I know your practicing so good try, but BOY that is horrible results haha.
Heres were you went wrong.
1st the mixture IS 2 parts equal Urea to 1 part water. This is why we used boiled water. Let the water cool to luke warn temp. Add mild soap to the mixture like 4 drops. Mix.
2nd dont use sprayer, just dump slowly over the object your painting.
3rd use a sharp tipped point like a pencil or compass tip to poke the liquid surface ever 5 to 8 or inches or what ever you want for longer, bigger star formations.
4th wait till dry then hit it with black paint let dry like 5 mins and then wipe gentle with a cotton cloth and plain water, air dry.
Dios mío llevo mirando estos vídeos 3 días y créame que ninguno me ha explicado como usted jajajaja gracias saludos desde 🇨🇴
I use DEF you can also find urea at homedepot heat gun helps really good too
What’s the process using DEF?
The spots are the soap bubbles.
12:48 squeeze the bottle and it will prime it! That’s a sign the o-rings inside are shot and it’s now campfire fun! 🤛🤜👍🙋🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤦♂️🌿
hey some sstates you have to use waterborn paint and clears californa is a state that did that hince no solvance base
Use a flarasol sprayer for better effect.
I’m no pro, but I can tell by how it reacts
Cool video. I tried doing something like that last year. I don’t think I had enough urea crystals in the water mix, got frustrated, and quit.
Then I remembered my mom was a crafter many decades ago. I don’t know where she bought the paint, but it was pre mixed and ready to go. It made a great crystal effect on the back glass on my aquarium.
Fast forward to today. Some specialty paint stores are selling it online. I just checked the internet. I also saw the same effects can be created by using epson salts.
I know from experience if you leave the urea and water combo in a sealed container for a month or two, some serious crazy crystals will form.
Thanks for the ideas! I might try that on a mailbox.
made my own first time was perfect filled a spray bottle lasted a few months did a mojotone 2x12 cab with plus a couple guitars . just have to get the temp right and not over do it because it decomposes its self and can get nasty .
Cool stuff
Gona have to give this technique & the base pigments a try. Do the color pigments hold up well in extended direct sunlight exposure? I know brighter, more neon colors tend to fade fairly quick. Would like to use a few of them on my road glide. It’s my daily vehicle so I’d don’t want to have to respray it in a year or so cause of fading.
If you do it in high temperatures or even out in the sun, you get much bigger and drastic patterns, and you should actually put one or two drips of dish soap in the mixture
Incorrect, the hotter the conditions the smaller the crystallisation. Cooler conditions let the crystals grow for longer, and in turn, bigger.
Dose this work on fiber body / plastic or only metal????
Yes
Brah, its urea, aka DEF fluid.
Alsa Corporation in La already makes the crystalline effect paint that you can buy so you don't need to experiment you can just buy it already, ready to go. And they make many many other types of special effect paints
Yeah for like half my salary á bottle😅
$270/quart!
Fun fact. Urea is what causes gout. The crystallization process happens in your joint causes massive inflammation.
Really???
@@TimeWarpCustomPaint Yep, imagine all those pretty crystals as hard needles in your joints.
Use a qtip and dab n lift, ull get a completely formed star or snowflake pattern…
Why can't you use DEF fluid for diesel engines? It's about 30% urea and 70% distilled water
Basically the same stuff in exhaust fluid for diesels
Yes, this is correct
3:09 is that like final wash? 🤛🤜👍🙋🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤦♂️🌿
How would this work on a tank or fender with drying?
I used alsa Cristal it is temp control the colder it is smaller it is the hotter it is the bigger it is. And the temp on what it being painting on.
Think you got that around the wrong way . Hotter it is the smaller the crystalz form .
25:04 ready to spray no thinner needed? 🤛🤜👍🙋🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤦♂️🌿
Never mind 🤦♂️? 🤛🤜👍🙋🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤦♂️🌿
Am l missing something here ???? Any videos I've watched up to this point are as follows...spray on crystals that look like crystals when dry. Not smudges. Spray on base coat of choice. Remove crystals with scratch pad and water. Hey presto...time for topcoat. This must be a prank video.....ISNT IT ??????
It's mutant crystal. Home made base coat home made crystal mixture without using the soap in the spay bottle of urea so he's making up his own rules. It does look cool and once it's candied over they'd both look great.
Yup soap build up
yeah those results are not very good lol . less humidity forms bigger crystals . DNA Paints has a perfect Mutant CrystalZ. probably where u got the name from.
Ugliest crystal paint ever seen...sorry😢
blá blá ,...... ....